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Anti-Carriage-Horse Activists Take Message To Times Square

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Though no one was hurt when a carriage horse somehow broke loose Monday in Central Park, anti-carriage-horse activists were using the incident to seek support for their cause Thursday evening.

Activists hit Times Square to distribute information to tourists explaining why they believe horse-drawn carriages should be outlawed in New York City, WCBS 880's Ginny Kosola reported.

Anti-Carriage-Horse Activists Take Message To Times Square

On Monday afternoon, a carriage horse named Pumpkin broke out of its bridle and started running with the carriage through Central Park, according to a Teamsters representative. There were no passengers or driver onboard.

The horse followed its usual route along the roads within Central Park, and exited the park at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street where a group of horse carriage drivers were waiting to corral the animal, the representative said.

The horse slowed down and finally stopped when the carriage got caught on an open door, the representative said.

"He was running into the crowds, and he could have killed somebody," Elizbeth Forel of the Coalition to Ban Horse Drawn Carriages told Kosola. "He could have killed himself."

Forel said activists often hand information to tourists where the carriages line up at Central Park.

"We thought this time it would be interesting to get away from the hack line," Forel said.

When asked about Mayor Bill de Blasio's promise to ban carriage rides, Forel said: "I think he's going to do it. I wish he would move more quickly."

A poll released Wednesday, however, said two-thirds of New Yorkers believe the mayor should not follow through on the ban.

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